The cooperation agreement was signed in a ceremony in Tehran on Sunday night with Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mines, and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh in attendance.
Officials of Alstom, a multinational company operating worldwide in rail transport markets, the Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran (IDRO) and Iranian Rail Industries Development Co (IRICO) inked the trilateral agreement.
Speaking at the ceremony, Nematzadeh said the Iranian rail transport industry has had a small share in the country’s development, calling for efforts to develop the industry.
He further pointed to the inauguration of subway projects in seven metropolises in the country, saying that manufacturing subway cars is one of the primary requirements for the projects.
Iran has ramped up efforts to renovate its aging railroad industry by attracting foreign investment in light of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear agreement between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) that took effect in January 2016.
Back in April, Iran and Transmashholding, Russia’s largest company on the railway machine-building market, finalized a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost cooperation in production of railroad cars.